Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
LOX and LOXL2 protein levels in dog mammary cancer tumors
By Daniel, Jessika et al.·Published in Veterinary and comparative oncology·2026·Department of Veterinary Medicine, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: LOX and LOXL2 Expression in Canine Mammary Carcinomas.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study looked at mammary tumors in 80 female dogs to see how certain proteins (LOX and LOXL2) could help predict how aggressive the cancer might be. The researchers found that dogs whose tumors showed low levels of LOXL2 were at a higher risk of dying from the cancer. This suggests that testing for LOXL2 could be useful for veterinarians in determining the prognosis for dogs with mammary tumors. Overall, understanding these markers may help in managing treatment and expectations for affected pets.
People also search for: dog mammary tumor prognosis · LOXL2 expression in dog cancer · female dog breast cancer treatment
Abstract
Mammary tumours account for approximately 50% of the neoplasms in female dogs. Even conventionally accepted prognostic indicators often fail to reliably predict the clinical behaviour of these tumours, underscoring the need for more effective prognostic markers. Proteins of the LOX family are associated with tumour invasion and metastasis in several types of tumours. The purpose of this study was to characterise the immunohistochemical expression of LOX and LOXL2 in canine mammary carcinomas and to investigate their prognostic significance. Samples of mammary carcinomas from 80 female dogs with a minimum post-surgical follow-up of 180 days were analysed. Tumour samples were submitted to immunohistochemistry to detect LOX and LOXL2. Immunolabelling was evaluated based on scores for staining intensity and percentage of positive cells, and a combined score was used to classify each protein as having either 'low-' or 'high-expression'. The results were compared with histological types, mortality due to the disease and post-surgical survival. We found that negativity for LOXL2 expression was an indicator of higher risk of death due to the disease. Our results suggest that lysyl oxidases such as LOXL2 are potential prognostic markers in mammary carcinomas of dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41408914/